Pousada Portas da Amazônia

Responsive staff, from WhatsApp inquiries before arrival, to in-person check-in. Marinete is especially kind, welcoming, and willing to help. Be prepared to first acclimate yourself in the heat of Maranhão in the spring. We arrived in the evening during their rush hour, so the wait time to check-in was a little longer than usual. The lobby is part outdoors and there are fans and a seating area with local art pieces. The Pousada is conveniently located in the historic part of the city, near the local nightlife with an amazing restaurant (Flor de Vinagreira), some souvenir shops, the local square where teens and locals hang and entertain, and dive bars. Walking distance to everything, but not much to see. This part of town is very ancient, locals say it’s somewhat safe. Pack smart since unfortunately vehicles don’t have access to the entrance to the Pousada, as the street is blocked with cement pillars on both ends. I also did not see elevators. Lots of stairs, and the little wooden plaque with our room number was down. Luckily there was kind a staff member nearby that informed us she would check where our room was and walk back to meet us where we were. Being lost, going up and down stairs with a heavy carry-on in a humid night in the spring, after a long flight is not the best feeling, but doable. Our room was clean and had a queen size bed and a twin with mini fridge, AC, and a large patio area with lots of greenery, trees, and birds. The bed is comfortable, but the sheets were a little stained. The AC is crucial for a good night’s sleep. Our shower was room temperature and there were only 2 bath towels in a room for 3 guests. I had to run down to the lobby to get an extra towel. It was late and we were too tired to be bothered to call the lobby after hours to ask if they could turn on the hot water for us to shower, so we took a cold shower and went to bed. The breakfast served local food, but nothing spectacular. Since you’re in the beauty of nature, bring repellent for a comfortable stay. Although I really wanted to give this place 5 stars, I can tell they do their best to serve and welcome their guests. After walking around town, I believe this still is the best Pousada in the historic district, on your way to Lençóis Maranhense.

My wife and I stayed 3 nights, arriving at 4PM by Uber(32 Br) from SLZ Airport. The Portuguese speaking receptionist took our payment, then carried our bag up 2 flights of stairs, down 1 flight and up 2 more flights to our room.|Master #28 had a clean plank wood floor with a comfortable queen posterbed, a single bed, a wobbly table with 2 chairs and a small TV with 10+ Portuguese channels. Perfect AC, closet bar over shelf with refrigerator below. |Cold water sink in nicely remodeled bathroom with electric head tile shower(small bar of soap and very slippery floor-no grab bars).|Large patio overlooking the interior courtyard with a long view of tile roofed houses.|Few outlets, good lighting and strong internet.|The lower level 6:30AM breakfast buffet was excellent with local juices, many fresh fruits, ham & cheese, eggs, breads, pork&beans, bundt cakes, cookies, flan, then thermos of coffee and hot milk.|The owner worked in London & Lisbon(We were both there at the 1974 Revolution) and speaks excellent English.|Overall, a historical, quaint and tranquil hotel with older rooms, offering good location & value.

I am a bit generous with the 3 stars. We actually booked 3 rooms and upon check in they only had 2 rooms booked. So far no problem that cannot be solved but the night clerk was amazingly slow. The rooms i find nice and colonial but towels were missing. If you arrive late the check in should just be giving you the key, and sort out the other stuff in the morning. The breakfast is also not great and that is weird in Brazil........A nice place but it needs some TLC and a proper management.

Colonial building which could be very nice, at the time of our visit undergoing renovations. Very dirty everything,common areas ,bedrooms and bathrooms.||Dirty towel, stained sheets. By European standards unacceptable and the owner is italian !!. Our first room t was full of dust and not cleaned for days. We kept coughing. The sheets were dirty and the pillowcases had holes in them. The bathroom was dirty and the towels with stains. We asked to change rooms but it was only available for the second night. We also found it not very clean with a dark anteroom and no air conditioning. It's a pity because the building is in an excellent position in the historic center but it is really unpresentable. Breakfast poor too. On line fotos don't explaine the real situation. If you want to lose money go in !!.

This place is in an amazing old colonial building which has been, for the most part, tastefully kept in an appropriate style. Our room looked lovely, came with a four poster bed, a fridge and a nice view on to the pedestrian street below.||||The location is very close to the main square in the old town. They also have a bar and a pizzeria attached to them - the pizzeria isn't a bad choice to eat in.||||I really liked the room and for the price (the discounted rate) I think it was good. I think if you paid the "standard" rate you'd probably be a bit disappointed. The breakfast was reasonable but isn't going to win any awards.||||What is frustrating is that this place could be much, much better. One of the staff was more interested in checking Whatsapp than serving us. The room clearly has a plumbing issue that should be fixed (I shaved in the sink and my hair made a bid for freedom from the plug hole in the night). There are several minor cosmetic issues that would not take long to sort out (a broken door to the balcony, a hole in the floor, the towel rack had been rehung but the old holes hadn't been filled in, a broken plug socket). ||||If you're looking for a modern hotel stay then this isn't it - if these faults had been in a modern hotel I would have been entirely less forgiving in my review. The charm comes in the building and the appearance of the rooms.

This is a quaint hotel that is absolutely bursting with potential. The same can be said for the surrounding historic district given its natural beauty and wonder. However, the problem with both is the same - they aren’t taken care of to the degree they should be. The service was kind and welcoming, the breakfast was nothing to write home about and the room was clean & spacious. But, the window panes in the room are broken so bugs would get in, there is no sound proofing so you will be awake to the street block parties that go on until 1am daily. These are small things that can easily be fixed; also streaming WiFi through the property should be a non issue in 2019. That being said, this is the best available property in the historic district, if you want to be where all the action is. We would recommend a stay a here.

What seems to have been bedbugs, two dead cockroaches in the room, mold, stained bed linen and generally poor cleanliness were what put us off. No doubt the area is pretty, and the pousada well-located. But no access to it by car makes it inconvenient to many travelers. Building and interior is otherwise charming, if a bit dark. Friendliness and helpfulness of reception desk could otherwise be vastly improved, as could the unappealing breakfast.

We arrived as a group of families. They moved us to a different nearby location, the Americo hotel.|The place is nice|The organization awful|They gave us the rooms but afterwards, without noticing and while we were out for dinner, they collected out things and moved to other rooms..|The breakfast was a tragedy. The table was full of dirty and there was no food left. At 8am so not that late.|I don't recommend this place or at least be prepared.|The worst staff in maranhao